Aria Borealis Bodø Sessions

Students, professionals, amateurs and interested visitors from Norway and abroad are invited to participate in an abundance of activities throughout the festival. The plan is now set for our active members, but it’s still not too late to be a fly on the wall with our Session observers pass. An ideal offer for anyone looking for new inspiration, as well as new friends and experiences, framed by the stunning nature of the arctic north.

YOU CAN STILL BOOK YOU SESSIONS OBSERVER PASS HERE!

As a Session Observer, you can enjoy masterclasses for singers and instrumentalists and workshops on improvisation, ensemble singing, basso continuo realisation, Baroque dance, Sámi joik, and Timani. On top of that, we are delighted to be able to offer an exclusive opportunity to experience Stefan Herheim at work in the workshop Scenic interpretation. Additionally, you have free entrance to all the concerts at the festival, including the competition performances, and the added exclusive possibility to follow all the competition rehearsals. If you still have time for more and would like to jam it out with new friends, we’ll happily put you in contact with like-minded musicians for spontaneous chamber music sessions and maybe even a pop-up concert or two.

All Session members may enjoy the meals we have at the Stormen Concert Hall, alongside jury members, tutors, fellow participants, singers from the competition, and other festival artists. For lunch, we provide sandwiches, soup or salad, and for dinner we’ll offer environmentally friendly vegetarian and pescatarian food (without meat but with delicious fish). You may opt out of this, but please look closely into the price level on food in Norway before you do so to avoid unpleasant surprises…

Also, be sure not to miss our late-night excursion on Tuesday, 28.07 – a hunt for the midnight sun and breathtaking views. The trip is included in all Sessions options. It will be planned according to the weather forecast and will not be strenuous.

You also have the extra choice of booking two unforgettable mini-expeditions with RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats), either to experience the magnificent maelstrom of Saltstraumen, sea eagles and other grand nature encounters, or to enjoy the magical midnight sun with the late night option! We also hope you’ll reserve a seat at the celebratory banquet after the prize ceremony on Saturday July 2. See below for the various rates.

Choose between these Sessions options:
Sessions Active solo vocal – only for those at conservatory level or above (video submission required)
Includes:

Two masterclass sessions with a jury member and accompanist
Workshops on ensemble singing, basso continuo realization, Baroque dance, Sámi joik, scenic interpretation and Timani.
The opportunity to perform in Stefan Herheim’s workshop – submit a video to be considered
Access to all other masterclasses
Access to competition rehearsals
Festival pass with entrance to all concerts, including the competition rounds
Four lunch talks (free entrance)
Lunch Saturday 25.06 – Saturday 02.07 (8 in total)
Dinner Saturday 25.06 – Friday 01.07 (7 in total)
Late night excursion Tuesday 28.06

Price: NOK 8 000 / 4 000

Sessions Active solo instrumental – for all levels Includes:

Two masterclass sessions with an accomplished tutor from the NBS orchestra
OR Two masterclass sessions with Lars Ulrik Mortensen for advanced harpsichord players (video submission required)
Workshops on improvisation, basso continuo realization, Baroque dance, Sámi joik, scenic interpretation and Timani
Access to all other masterclasses
Access to competition rehearsals
Festival pass with entrance to all concerts, including the competition rounds
Four lunch talks (free entrance)
Lunch Saturday 25.06 – Saturday 02.07 (8 in total)
Dinner Saturday 25.06 – Friday 01.07 (7 in total)
Late-night excursion Tuesday 28.06

Price: NOK 8 000 / 4 000

Sessions Active vocal with a friend – for singer and lute/harpsichord accompaniment Includes:

Two masterclass sessions with a jury member and one with Boysen / Duncumb
Workshops on improvisation/ensemble singing, basso continuo realization, Baroque dance, Sámi joik, scenic interpretation and Timani
The opportunity for the singer to perform in Stefan Herheim’s workshop – submit a video to be considered
Access to all other masterclasses
Access to competition rehearsals
Festival pass with entrance to all concerts, including the competition rounds
Four lunch talks (free entrance)
Lunch Saturday 25.06 – Saturday 02.07 (8 in total)
Dinner Saturday 25.06 – Friday 01.07 (7 in total)
Late-night excursion Tuesday 28.06

Price: NOK 6 900 / 3 450

Sessions Active instrumental with friends – for instrumental ensembles of 2 – 4 on all levels (video submission required) Includes:

Three masterclass sessions with an accomplished tutor from the NBS orchestra
Workshops on improvisation/ensemble singing, basso continuo realization, Baroque dance, Sámi joik, scenic interpretation and Timani
Access to all other masterclasses
Access to competition rehearsals
Festival pass with entrance to all concerts, including the competition rounds
Four lunch talks (free entrance)
Lunch Saturday 25.06 – Saturday 02.07 (8 in total)
Dinner Saturday 25.06 – Friday 01.07 (7 in total)
Late-night excursion Tuesday 28.06

Price: NOK 6 900 / 3 450

Sessions Observer – for all Includes:

Access to all masterclasses and workshops, including partaking in Baroque dance and Timani
Access to competition rehearsals
Festival pass with entrance to all concerts, including the competition rounds
Four lunch talks (free entrance)
Lunch Saturday 25.06 – Saturday 02.07 (8 in total)
Dinner Saturday 25.06 – Friday 01.07 (7 in total)
Late-night excursion Tuesday 28.06

Price: NOK 5 600 / 2 800

Add-ons:

RIB boat to Saltstraumen 25.06 @ 15:30 – 17:30: NOK 750
RIB boat to experience the midnight sun 01.07 @ 22:00 – 24:00: NOK 1 000
Celebratory banquet 02.07 @ 19:30 NOK 350
Individual Timani session (1h, payable at the session) NOK 600

In addition to the Timani workshop, a limited number of individual sessions with Tina Margareta Nilsen are also on offer. To secure your 60 minutes session for NOK 600, please write in English to Laura Chambers on lauraec1602@gmail.com. Mark the subject line “Timani Session during Aria Borealis” and choose your preferred day in the period June 26 – 29. A slot will then be held for you and is payable on site.

Masterclasses

For Sessions Active you’ll bring your own repertoire for coaching by one of our tutors. Come alone or together with friends for ensemble sessions. We recommend the latter, as you’ll get more lessons, but we might also help you connect with other participants for some fun music making in your spare moments of the stay in Bodø. We may even spontaneously arrange some pop-up concerts!

Our focus is mainly on style and interpretation, and all lessons will be open, also for those who prefer to book a Session Observer pass. The singers and harpsichordists will be tutored by the jury members. You will thus need to submit with your application form a short video on which the jurors will base their decisions if the capacity is exceeded. Other instrumentalists will be tutored by the accomplished orchestra musicians from the four NBS orchestras. There is limited capacity, both for Session Active members and for Session Observers, so please make sure to apply early.

For instrumentalists, Sessions Active is open to all levels. You may be a modern player, but we play in a=415 Hz, so wind players must have a Baroque instrument. If you are a string player, you can bring your modern instrument, but please have gut strings for your two top strings and bring a baroque bow. Singers need to be at conservatory level or above, but not necessarily specialised in Early Music. You will need to submit a short video of yourself, though. You’ll be asked to post a link on the application form. The recording doesn’t need to be elaborate or of an extremely high recording quality, since it’ll mainly serve to get to know you a little.

Masterclass tutors

For singers:
Emma Kirkby DBE, soprano
Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano
Anders J Dahlin, tenor
Lars Ulrik Mortensen, harpsichord

For string instruments:
Aira Maria Lehtipuu, violin/viola
Fredrik From, violin/viola
Anthony Marini, violin/viola
Mime Brinkmann, cello / viola da gamba
Judith Maria Blomsterberg, cello

For wind instruments:
Pauliina Fred, flute & recorder
Antoine Torunczyk, oboe

For continuo instruments:
Jadran Duncumb, lute
Thomas Boysen, lute
Lars Ulrik Mortensen, harpsichord
Tineke Steenbrink, harpsichord

Workshops

Scenic interpretation with Stefan Herheim.
A handful of selected students bring their favourite arias to Stefan Herheim for stage direction.

Continuo realisation with Lars Ulrik Mortensen.
Examining the role of the continuo group within a chamber music context. General consideration and specific examples.

Improvisation on a ground bass with Lars Ulrik Mortensen.
How to create your improvised composition – the ground bass approach for instrumentalists.

Timani with Tina Margrethe Nilsen. Timani is designed to help musicians understand and overcome challenges related to pain, injury, technical issues, sound production or even just to enhance one’s playing to access higher potential as a musician. By focusing on the physiological aspects of playing, it enables musicians to make the best use of their body while practising and performing.

Joik with Frode Fjellheim Joik is considered one of the oldest living music traditions in Europe and is an important part of Sámi culture. The Sámi are an indigenous people who, among other things, practice their traditional industry, reindeer husbandry, from the Innlandet in southern Norway, to the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Joik is a pure vocal tradition. Although the tradition varies greatly within the large area of Sámi culture that exists today, we find a number of common features that allow us to refer to it as a common Sámi vocal expression. In the workshop, you`ll get an introduction to the tradition, both the vocal technique, the musical structures and how it is traditionally used in the Sámi community. Frode Fjellheim will teach us some traditional joiks from different areas, and maybe you’ll try out what it’s like to make your own joik.

A cappella ensemble singing with Tuuli Lindeberg.
Singers meet to enjoy the rich Renaissance and Baroque repertoire for vocal ensembles in a fun and relaxed setting. The repertoire will be selected based on the voice type of the Session Active singers

Baroque Dance with Elizabeth Svarstad.
Dance teacher and historian Elizabeth Svarstad will teach the basic steps of different dances and their history and context. Minuet, bourrée, gavotte or sarabande – dance music is at the very core of Baroque music. By dancing the dances of the Baroque period, singers and instrumentalists will physically experience the character and tempos of the music, and consequently understand more of the relationship between the music and the dance in the eighteenth century.

Special offers:

Are you a singer and would like to get the opportunity to perform at Stefan Herheim’s workshop on scenic interpretation? Submit a video link for the opportunity of being one of the three selected.
Are you a student? Submit your student ID for a reduced fee!
Did you participate in the Aria Borealis Bodø singing competition without reaching the top? Submit your confirmation email for a reduced fee!

To enter

You’ll find our entry form here! The deadline for Active members was June 1, but Sessions Observers are still welcome to join us!

The meals are included in the fee. If you plan on eating with us, all you need to do is to make us aware of any dietary requirements. If you choose to register without included meals, you can tick the box in the form to opt out. The celebration banquet on Saturday, July 2 is not included, so please tick the relevant box if you’d like to join us for the banquet. We hope to see you there!

A deposit of NOK 1 000 is payable with your application. With your confirmation letter, you’ll receive an invoice for the balance which will be due June 15. The deposit is refundable if the course is cancelled or if your selected Sessions option is full and you don’t accept any other alternatives offered.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact us at info@ariaborealis.com.

For information on how to travel to Bodø and options for accommodation, please check out our Welcome to Bodø page. You’ll also find more information about Bodø at Visit Bodø